L'amour Des Chiens
by Staurolite
Summary: Kit knew sixth year was going to be different. She wouldn't handle being pushed around any longer, not by the Marauders or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's followers in Hogwarts. Little did she know, her secret tie to the Marauders would complicate her own goals, especially as she avoided the unusual attention from the Dark Lord.
1. Chapter 1

A young woman sat by her window, watching the rivulets of water flow across her view as she wished she were just a drop of rain. How simple and complete would her life be then? No worries over mortality, as water is eternal, and no fears over what would come in the future. The date was September 1st, Kitadrelle Taylor's least favorite day of the year. Before she fell too deep into thought, a harsh shout shattered the silence cocooning her being.

"Get down here bitch! It's time for you to get your ass out of here." yelled up at her.

The name-calling was not uncommon; her parents were drunks. Both failed out of various magical schools around the country, which caused a major grudge against Kit's magic, especially considering the her successes in school.

All summer, she had spent the days hiding in her room, only coming out at night when the other residents of the house were passed out. Food was a scarcity; she had to learn to avoid certain ones that would be noticed if any disappeared while only taking small portions of what she could. Occasionally, she got help from her only friend in the city. Jack was a muggle, but understood what Kit was going through as she used to be in the same situation.

Not wanting to risk the possible wrath from her father for dallying while getting downstairs, she grabbed her trunks, which had never been unpacked, and rushed down the stairs, nearly tripping over an empty bottle of Firewhiskey. Her father waited in front of the fireplace, ready to give his yearly speech.

"Don't come home for the holidays and don't you dare contact me when you're at this school. I do not need to be reminded of _them._ Got it?"

He spat out 'them' with undeniable hatred; after being practically rejected from the magical world, he couldn't stand anything that had to do with wizards. She merely nodded her head in understanding. He tended to interpret any verbal response as 'talking back' which would never be tolerated.

Ready to jump from the frying pan right into the fire, she walked over to the fireplace and grabbed a small handful of floo powder.

"Kings Cross Station!"

She never liked floo powder. It always made her feel unbelievably nauseous and, when she finally landed in the right fireplace, one look at her tended to remind muggle-borns of a young Bambi learning to walk on ice. She never seemed to be able to use floo powder without hurting herself by stumbling and falling.

Fortunately for her, she was the first one to show up at Platform 9 3/4. Grateful that she wouldn't have to awkwardly ask to sit with strangers on the ride to Hogwarts, she quickly snatched the very last compartment and settled in for a long ride. As the train started filling up, groups of friends looking for seats would glance into her compartment, but as soon as they saw her, they left. You see, Kit had no 'best friends'. In total, she was a loner whose sole purpose was to argue and fight with every other major group on campus. She prided herself in being enemies with both the Slytherin clique and the marauders, even though she was a Gryffindor herself. As this was her sixth year, her interactions with others had become tiring, but she couldn't help but stand against anyone she figured abused their power. Whether that be brutal pranking or anti-muggle beliefs, it didn't matter.

"Hey, hey, hey. Who do we have here?" the bane of Kit's existence asked. The owner of said voice stood in the doorway of Kit's compartment, filling up as much space as his sixteen-year-old body could, which was quite a lot as he was also the star player on the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

"Why James, who could you be talking about. The only people here are Moony, Wormtail, you and I," Sirius jovially added, always game for messing with Kit.

"Yeah, she should move, right?" a small voice belonging to Peter Pettigrew timidly asked. He didn't have the confidence to actually contribute to the conversation.

Kit remained silent and counted the droplets of water on the window; she didn't have the energy to deal with their shit at the moment. Usually, she could keep up with their verbal tennis, but, at the moment, she only wanted peace. That didn't mean she wasn't mentally glaring at them with the sharpest glare her emerald eyes could manage.

"Come on guys, let's just leave. She isn't worth the time anyways." Lupin, the voice of reason, said.

Remus Lupin held the status of Kit's favorite Marauder. Sure, he still acted like an ass, but at least he was usually the one to get the other three asses to leave. The pair had a secret, non-verbal agreement that he would try to defend her as much as he could from the idiocy from his friends, but once they had their sights set on her, all he could do was try to end it as soon as possible.

"Fine," Black said, "but this isn't over."

She never understood what 'this' was. For some reason, she always had some sort of unfinished business with the Marauders. She huffed, blowing a small section of her wavy black hair in the air before it landed over her eyes. Frustration coursed through her being as she shoved the misbehaving strands behind her ear. Rain still pattered against the window, as if to emphasize the constancy of nature, even while she faced her own turmoil.


	2. Chapter 2

The rest of the journey passed with relative ease. No one bothered her, so she spent her time musing over what the next year of school would bring. Some form of 6th sense told her things would be different this year. Whether the sense was blind hope or a legitimate premonition, she had no idea.

When the train completely stopped moving, Kit had to haphazardly put her robes on; she had been too focused on her own thoughts to remember to put them on during the journey.. By the time she left the train, it was completely void of other students.

The chilly moist air sapped the heat away from any exposed skin on her body. Although not quite as cold as it would be as the seasons officially changed, she knew that if she hadn't been wearing her robes, she would be severely uncomfortable. She glanced at the thestral-pulled carriages with a sigh of resignation. She had never ridden in those carriages; at first, because her shyness prevented her from sitting with strangers, but now her dedication to walking to Hogwarts represented a revitalisation of self. No one else knew the rocky path with the various rare plants that lined it. No one else appreciated the sound of confidant hooves passing by while one reveled in the quiet sounds of nature. No one else experienced the scents of the path which inspired Kit's imagination.

However, walking wasn't always the perfect way to go. Rain still trickled down from the heavens and it soaked her to the bone. Her robes no longer served the purpose of keeping her warm and instead weighed her down as she climbed up the stairs to the Great Hall to check if she had missed the sorting ceremony yet again.

Surprise, surprise, by the time she arrived, the students and faculty were well into their meals. She had never seen the sorting ceremony and typically missed most of the start of term feast. If the aroma of perfectly cooked food wasn't so tempting, she might have just gone straight to bed to prepare for the following morning. Instead, she gave in to her now gnawing stomach and found her way to the kitchens, which always welcomed hungry students. Knowing everyone was in the Great Hall, she didn't check her surroundings as she tickled the pear in the portrait that led to the kitchens.

"Hello miss, is there anything I can do for you?" a tiny house-elf asked, her body coated with a thin layer of flour everywhere except for her hands, which she had just wiped off after seeing Kit enter.

"What's your name?" Kit inquired, not unkindly.

"It's Pinky, miss."

"Pinky, would you please grab me whatever you have extra for? It would be much appreciated. Oh, and please just call me Kit."

She moved to go sit a the small table by the lone fireplace in the corner of the kitchens. She peeled off her outer robe and laid it directly in front of the fire to dry. The air of the fire warmed her body and worked to dry out the articles of clothes she could not take off while remaining decent. Regardless, the damp clothing clung to her skin in a way she would be uncomfortable with the other students seeing. Her wand currently resided in her luggage, which, by now, would be in her room. Otherwise, she would've just dried off with magic.

"Here's your food Miss Kat. Headmaster Dumbledore would like to speak with you; should I tell him to wait until you finish eating?" Pinky said, while placing a plate full of pasties and different jellies on the table.

"Sure, you can send him over."

As it is whenever Dumbledore asks to see her, Kit immediately begins to slightly freak out on the inside. Even if she's done nothing wrong (at least she thinks she's done nothing wrong), she'll believe she had. If he walked up to her and accused her of murder, she'd probably admit to it.

"It better not be because I'm in the kitchens. I know students aren't always allowed here, but I've seen Black and Potter sneak in here at least once a week," Kit thought to herself with a mixture of apprehension and resentment. Instead of eating the delicious spread Pinky brought, she tangled her fingers in her hair and nervously bounced her leg. Her shoe made an irritating tapping sound resound around her, but the noises of the busy kitchen mostly drowned it out.

"Hello Miss Taylor. May I speak with you?" He asked, as if Kit could say no. She nodded, signaling him to sit in the chair across from her. He smoothed out his unruly beard as he sat, his ivory hair contrasting starkly with his plum colored robes. After he sat, Kit could see his silver boots with half-moon buckles and couldn't help but appreciate the how well they went with his half-moon glasses. She didn't feel awkward about her own state of dress, not with him being so bold. Pinky brought him some herbal tea as he got settled. He paused before speaking, as if to collect and properly form his thoughts into words as he sipped from the aromatic tea cup.

"Miss Taylor, I noticed you weren't in the Great Hall for announcements, so I figured it might be best if I came to tell you them myself." His eyes crinkled as he gave her a quick smile before continuing. "Some parents have contacted me over the summer about their concerns about their children's love lives. The pureblood families especially are worried, especially in this turbulent time, that their children are finding unsuitable matches," he spoke, revealing his disdain for such behavior through obvious sarcasm, which no one but McGonagall and her ever heard. She felt privileged to see this side of Dumbledore; he didn't hide his true opinions about the events of the world from her.

"So, this year, all the usual annual dances will now me masquerades. I personally have enchanted the masks so that they truly conceal the wearer's identity; they can't utter a word about their masks while they're not wearing them and they can't speak of their identity while they are wearing the masks. That way, all the interactions have nothing to do with name or status."

He seemed proud of his solution to the complaints of the parents, but it was almost unnoticeable through the overall humble and caring aura the wizard exuded. He stood up, placing the half-empty cup of tea down next to Kit's untouched plate of food.

"Oh, and just a reminder, tonight's a full moon so you better head out soon." He gave her a playful wink as he turned and left the kitchens, his robes swishing through the air. Kit could hear him whistle some muggle song as he left, the portrait cutting off his tune with a thud.

She turned back to her food and began eating with such ferocity that onlookers might guess her to be part animal, which wasn't too far from the truth. As she ate, she glanced at her watch that told the position and phase of the moon. She had an appointment that night, just like every full moon. The watch was a gift from Dumbledore who, in her fourth year, had approached her with a job to protect her four enemies during their most dangerous time of the month.


	3. Chapter 3

**~Flashback-4th year~**

Kit was in Professor Kettleburn's Care of Magical Creatures class learning about the totally amazing and fascinating flobberworms. In reality, she focused more on the rain clouds that were constantly threatening the students with an unwanted downpour. Kettleburn would only use the rain as an excuse to rope his unfortunate students into gathering more of the disgusting creatures from the ground and she sincerely hoped that would _not_ happen.

Suddenly, a Ravenclaw ran out of the castle as if a horde of dementors were right behind him. For some reason, she felt as if she knew him from somewhere, but she didn't socialize often, so the reason for the familiarity escaped her. She slowly inched closer to them, pretending to be inspecting the flobberworms in the professor's hands. Kit had a bit of an obsession with eavesdropping whenever she could, without actually crossing the line of becoming a creeper. Unfortunately, she ended up standing right next to the marauder posse, as they had been asking a bunch of pointless questions to try and irritate the professor.

"Professor Kettleburn?"

"Yes, Pehrson, what do you have to tell me?" Kettleburn replied, clearly annoyed by being interrupted while trying to explain to Potter why flobberworms were actually interesting creatures.

"Um, miss Taylor is wanted in the Headmaster's office."

"Is it urgent?"

"I think so, Dumbledore said it was a very important matter."

"Very well, Miss Taylor," he called out, "You are wanted in the Headmaster's office; remember to get the rest of today's lesson from one of your classmates" he quickly said, eager to get back to trying to impress Potter.

"Licorice wands," the Ravenclaw boy, Pehrson, said with a smirk.

That phrase seemed to signal something in Kit, reminder her from where she knew the boy. He was Dumbledore's assistant and the new Head Boy; he loved lording his power over the underclassmen and he had a habit of pranking anyone under fifth year, so prefects didn't really care about them. All in all, she realized she didn't like the boy, at all, and she felt absolutely terrified at his glee of bringing her to the headmaster's office.

The doors opened to reveal a moving spiral staircase that, frankly, had always creeped Kit out. She was a little nervous to step on, but by what Pehrson said to Professor Kettleburn, this was important. Plus, she didn't want to seem weak in front of the jackass seventh-year when she fully knew he would use her weakness against her in the future. He waved her along and returned back to whatever he was doing before; probably working with Peeves to turn the first-years' cauldrons into goo.

As she stepped into the extravagant room, her eyes couldn't stop from roaming across the bookshelves full of different objects, half of which weren't even books. Some glowed with a dim light while others gave the air of being extremely dangerous and unsafe to have lying out in the open. She finally focused on the center of the room after she heard an amused cough break her concentration.

"Hello, Headmaster? You wanted to speak with me?"

"Yes, and I will get straight to the point. I know you are an illegal animagi-"

"But...how…" Her heart jumped to her throat, her adrenaline response preparing her to beg Dumbledore for her life-she was too young to be in Azkaban.

"Don't worry child, you're not in trouble. I just have a job for you, completely optional of course."

Kit merely nodded and tried to calm her racing heart. No one knew about her secret; her parents wouldn't hesitate to sell her out if it meant them profit, even if the profit was just seeing their daughter in trouble with the wizarding world.

"I would like for you to look after three other illegal animagi and a werewolf during full moons."

There were three other animagi in Hogwarts? And a werewolf? Kit felt stupid that she hadn't noticed something so big in the school and felt even more dumb that, even with this information, she couldn't guess who the big law-breakers were.

"Remus Lupin, a student in your year I believe, has been a werewolf ever since a devastating accident when he was younger. I knew he wouldn't be able to keep it from his friends for long, but when Mister Potter, Black, and Pettigrew found out, they did the unexpected. They started to train to become illegal animagi, such as yourself, and now they have succeeded.

"They think I know nothing of their operation and I would like to keep it that way. So, my offer is, you make sure that those four don't get into trouble over the full moon and I will no longer require you to be in Care of Magical Creatures while giving extra credit in Transfiguration."

Well, who could pass up deal like this. Dumblecore knew Kit hated Care of Magical Creatures with a passion, as proven through her multiple detentions from ditching class to fly around on the quidditch field with her homemade broomstick. The moment she realized she wouldn't have to listen to Kettleburn drone on about flobberworms, the decision made itself.

"Deal."

"Good, now all you need to know is that Potter is a stag, Pettigrew is a rat, and Black is a dog. Every full moon, they go under the Whomping Willow, into a tunnel that leads to the Shrieking Shack. I trust that you will see them off to the tunnel then wait for them at the shack. Please, stop them from wandering off and keep the townspeople safe. I hope to see you after the first full moon with a report on how they did. You may now go to your next class."

"Thank you Headmaster… just thank you."

That night, she found a mysterious silver package resting on her pillow. Unmarked to signify who it was from, it contained a beautiful golden watch that told not the time, but the phases and the position of the moon in the sky.


	4. Chapter 4

***Present Time***

Kit went outside and shifted in a small enclosure in the trees of the Forbidden Forest where she could see out at the Weeping Willow, but no one could see her. Now as a wolf, she carefully balanced her bundle of clothes with her wand on a raised branch to prevent them from getting dirty while she babysat the marauders. She waited patiently until they arrived, using her time to admire the sight of the full moon and the effect moonlight had on the grounds. If she weren't so concerned the boys might be late, she could have truly admired the blossoming of the moon flowers all around her. Her white fur blended in well with the buds.

According to the watch, which sat on top of her bundle of clothes, the boys had about 60 seconds to get Lupin through the tunnel and into the Shrieking Shack to be considered safe for the night. They arrived with only half that time to spare and the Lupin's wolf was in the process of taking over the boy. At her distance, she could already see the beginnings of a snout forming on his face. Luckily, they got Lupin into the tunnel without too much trouble, but their luck wouldn't last. A werewolf trapped in a tiny, crowded place, isn't the happiest werewolf.

At this point, she couldn't intervene. She couldn't get past the Weeping Willow and into the tunnel if her life depended on it. The fate of the boys solely depended on their ability to transport Lupin safely.

Instead of focusing on things she couldn't change, Kit sprinted to the Shrieking Shack, wasting no time in following the scents that she could only smell as a wolf. Sometimes, if she figured she had time, she would follow the scent paths to find amazing creatures most wizards and witches never got to see.

As she grew closer to the infamous 'haunted' house, she could tell trouble was brewing. Series of unusually vicious barks, howls, thumps, and slams emanated from the run-down house. Kit sat on her haunches, ready for the danger she knew was coming. Her body coiled, ready for action, as Lupin decided to come crashing out of a window right next to her. For the first time ever, her wolf interacted with his, by tackling him into the ground. Her distraction worked; she no longer had to worry about Lupin finding some poor soul in Hogsmeade to let his anger out on, but now he focused his entire being on Kit, which wasn't a welcome thought for her.

With the threat of her death looming in her mind, she sprinted back into the Forbidden Forest, away from both the town and the school. Furious growling and the occasional snap at her back legs propelled her forward, even if her lungs screamed for rest. She settled into a large loop just big enough that the werewolf wouldn't notice they were running in circles but small enough that the other marauders could catch up once they recovered, hopefully.

That hope began to disappear as the pair did more and more rounds across the forest without her catching sight of the other three animagis. Her legs gave out on her the moment she glimpsed a stag galloping through the trees. Lupin took advantage of her collapse to pin her down. Her wolf strength was no match for his werewolf strength, so she did the instinctual thing by exposing her belly with overwhelming submission with the blind wishfulness that Lupin's wolf would recognise her as not being a threat.

Through some miracle, instead of tearing her throat out, he curled up next to her; the running, which he was not used to, had entirely exhausted him and the wolf needed a break. The three other marauders arrived, full of fear that they would find a bloody mess that would result from a fight between the mysterious white wolf and their friend.

Seeing the pair settled down for an innocent nap, Potter shifted back into his wizard form, only covered by a thin cloak he had summoned from the mess of the Shrieking Shack, to try and communicate with the unknown animagi.

"We know you're a wizard," he called out at a distance, aware that if Lupin considered him a threat, he was as good as dead. "Who are you?"

Kit didn't dare turn into her human form; they couldn't know who she was. It wasn't exactly fair that she got to know all their secrets when they knew nothing about her, but that wasn't a good enough motivation for her to let the people she trusted least in the world know about her extracurricular activities.

For communication, she did the next best thing. She formed a temporary pack bond with Black's dog. She would've done this with Lupin, but werewolves didn't really have the ability to communicate when they were turned; the beast took over everything, including thought.

" _You, dog man. Tell Potter I'm just here to help."_

With that, she cut the connection. It would be beneficial to communicate with him throughout the night, but there was the possibility that he would hear thoughts not meant for him. After all, she had a secret identity to keep.

Seeing that Lupin was well occupied with a nap, Black nudged Potter and gently dragged him behind a large hedge to relay the message Kit gave him. By the time they returned, Kit and Lupin were fast asleep, completely oblivious to the world. The three marauders found comfortable spots on the ground to rest on and tried their hardest to not fall asleep. Lupin may be down for now, but he could easily wake up and go on another rampage. Every time the slight breeze ruffled his fur or he shifted into a more comfortable position, the stag would jump up and the dog would release a low growl only to realize nothing was happening.

The group stayed that way, uneasily resting, until the full moon set behind the trees and dew drops littered the fur of the animagi. Potter and Black had eventually fallen asleep and both snored loud enough to scare the beasts of the forest away from them. Kit awoke first, the moment streaks of light orange filled the sky. It disturbed her how comfortable she was lying at Lupin's side; she had never felt as genuinely safe as she did cuddling the werewolf. Something about his scent, or maybe just his presence in general, put her mind at ease.

Careful not to disturb the werewolf-soon to be wizard-or his friends, she snuck off back to the castle, ready to sleep in her own bed until classes started, which wouldn't be for another couple of hours.

Her roommates didn't even notice her entering the room at five in the morning, thank Merlin. No one had noticed her monthly nights out yet, which was great because she couldn't exactly explain where she spent her time. Still dressed in yesterday's clothes, that had fallen off the branch in the night and were slightly muddy, she passed out on top of her covers with the canopy closed to block the intrusive sunlight from interrupting her slumber.


	5. Chapter 5

**First day of classes**

When Kit awoke three hours later, most of the girls in the room had already left for breakfast. She waited until the last person left, probably Lily who spent her mornings in the dorm avoiding Potter, to get out of bed and prepare for the day.

Unlike most mornings after the full moon, her reflection in the mirror of the shared bathroom showed various small scratches covering her entire body. Never before had she interacted with the marauders on their adventures; she usually spent the time laying on a patch of grass outside the Shrieking Shack and let them deal with the night on their own. In contrast, she spent the last time running through various branches and thorns in her attempt to escape the werewolf, giving herself dozens of small scrapes in the process.

She sighed softly, deciding to put off healing herself until after she had showered. She wasn't the best at healing magic; if she messed herself up by trying, she didn't want to walk to Madame Pomfrey's while covered in the mud from last night. Now that the marauders knew they had someone watching over them, whose identity they didn't know, her walk of shame would be a dead give-away, if they could make the connection.

The warm water of the shower stung her scrapes but did wonders for the aches in her muscles. As the water cascaded down her back, the various knots and kinks in her back slowly relaxed, filling Kit with a sense of relief. She stayed like that for several minutes; still as steam filled the bathroom, only moving to turn up the temperature of the water as her skin adjusted to the heat. Realising she had a schedule to stick to for the day, she reached for her shampoo to clean herself.

Regardless of her entirely magical heritage, her floral shampoo was entirely muggle in origin. She loved the scent more than she cared about the magical properties of common witches' soaps; it reminded her of spring days when she escaped into the park with her friends, playing the days away without a care. That was when she didn't consider herself a witch; she was just a kid.

She wanted to stay under the steaming spray of water forever, but classes would start soon and she couldn't afford to be late on the first day. Somehow, she managed to heal herself without making anything worse, but she simultaneously healed her ear piercings too. In her rush to get ready, she didn't even notice until she shoved an earring where it no longer could go with a flash of pain and a yelp.

When she was ready for the day, sans earrings, she made her way to the kitchens for breakfast. She still avoided the Great Hall; her overall dislike for her classmates combined with her introversion lead her to stay away from large groups of people.

On her singular table beside the empty fireplace resided a slip of paper, her class schedule for the school year, with a meal already set out for her. She sat down to devour the plate of too-sweet pastries before taking off for Herbology, the first class of the day.

The rain from the previous night had made the grounds sloppy and muddy. As she carefully made her way past the worst of the puddles, she witnessed Kettleburn, who thought the mud brought the perfect time to start his lecture on flobberworms for the year. The third years appeared to be absolutely miserable, to the joy of Kit. She never had to deal with the Care of Magical Creatures again.

By the time she reached the greenhouse, the mud had coated her shoes and the bottom of her cloak. The class itself was just as dull as Kettleburns'. The whole period consisted of the usual safety procedures concerning the relatively dangerous plants the sixth-years would be handling. Like most of the other Gryffindor and Ravenclaw students in the class, Kit stood with rapt attention. However, as always, all of the marauders present ignored the professor and chose to focus on a blank piece of parchment in between them.

Unknown to Kit and most of the other students, the parchment was not blank but instead enchanted so only the authors could read from it. On it, various scribbles and diagrams filled with dozens of random names filled every open space. The trio, as Lupin was recovering in the Medical Wing, were determined to figure out who the mystery wolf was. In every class they had for the day, they worked on their sheet while others looked on in confusion. Their enchantment seemed to be holding up; only Dumbledore seemed to be able to see through their trick when he approached them during lunch over Lupin's status, but he chuckled to himself instead of talking to them about it.

They wouldn't be able to focus in class of they tried. This unknown animagi knew about their illegal animagi status. If they told someone and got the trio in trouble while exposing Lupin's status as a werewolf, their lives would be ruined and they wouldn't be able to do anything about it. But, if they knew the wolf's identity, they could ask for secrecy or, if they were turned in, they could turn in the other animagi. Through careful tracking by the ministry of animagis, they knew there were no wolves or wizards in the Hogwarts region other than Mcgonagall, who could be a cat.

They also wanted to ask the wolf how she managed to calm Lupin's wolf so easily. Chasing her through the forest would not have exhausted him as much as it appeared to, a fact Lupin testified to when he was awake. For some reason, his wolf had no intention of hurting her- he just wanted to be close.

As he rested in the infirmary, images of the white wolf from the previous night raced through his mind. He can't consciously control his wolf when he turns, but he can still see and remember everything that happens. He remembered not wanting to harm her, even when he was angered by her running away from him. To his wolf, all that mattered was that he protected her from harm, not that he told his friends that the next morning.

The marauders spent the entire day pondering over their mystery. Black somehow ignored the advances of all women and Potter didn't ask Lily out on a date once. Pettigrew didn't really contribute anything, but he got snacks and took notes for the group in classes where he had to.

After Pomfrey considered Lupin well enough to be released, classes were over and he found his friends in the library, which could be considered a miracle on all accounts. Even the librarian looked shocked at their presence as she waved at Lupin with comfortable familiarity. He normally spent his time there, but his friends rarely did. He originally went to the library to work on everything he missed that day, but it only took a minor amount of convincing to rope him into his friends' mystery.


	6. Chapter 6

**Dreaming**

It was after dinner before Kit remembered to send Dumbledore an update about how the full moon went. Her notes were never long; this one only said that Lupin had escaped the shack and she led him to the forest. She didn't have to mention the hole which now existed in the side of the building. Dumbledore always checked out the structural integrity of the Shrieking Shack between each full moon, regardless of what her note said.

Speaking of which, Dumbledore's personal owl started to peck at the window of the dorm as she finished her report with an overly loopy signature. After Kit opened the window to the cool night air to send the report away, she reveled in the silence due to the absence of any of her roommates. They were probably still eating or gossiping in the common room, both activities Kit rarely took part in. Instead of being social, she admired the view of the night sky without the light pollution that usually interrupted her view at home. The moon was brighter than usual and, to the untrained eye, still appeared to be full. Its light reduced the visibility of some of the stars, but she could still see the hazy bands of soft color from the Milky Way.

Her reprieve from human contact did not last long.

"Maybe Potter is just over you," a feminine voice teased as Lily entered the dorm with Marlene McKinnon, Alice Jones, and Molly Prewett close on her heels.

Lily seemed ready with a snarky comment, but her voice died in her throat at seeing someone else in the dorm room, even as Kit greeted them with a friendly yet shy smile. Without meaning to, she had killed the friendly mood of the four other women solely through her presence.

No matter how much Kit tried to reassure herself that she wasn't cursed, she knew it must be true. If only to preserve a shred of dignity, she feigned exhaustion and retired to her bed, with the curtains closed. It only took a couple minutes for conversation to pick back up again, which stung. No one actively disliked her, but she couldn't make friends for the life of her.

She used magic to put on her pajamas; teeth brushing could wait for the following morning. No one closed the window or started the fireplace, so the room quickly dropped in temperature. Fortunately, the canopies of the beds trapped heat effectively, keeping the students toasty warm throughout the night.

She fell asleep quickly, but didn't stay that way for long. A strange dream woke her in the middle of the night. A faceless stranger and she were doing things her somewhat innocent mind had never thought of doing, and she loved every second of it. They were in the astronomy tower, but she wasn't concerned about anyone finding them. Her only thoughts consisted of the man and the sensation of his body touching hers. In the dream, she could feel her deep attraction for the man and a strong sense of security unlike she had ever felt before. Even after awaking, she could feel his soft lips ghost across her throat.

Deciding against pondering on it further, she turned over and tried to get comfortable. Before long, she drifted back off to sleep, the dream long forgotten.

Unlike Kit, Lupin couldn't get back to sleep. Images of himself with a faceless woman haunted his mind and his imagination. He had also never had those kinds of thoughts, but now he couldn't help but think about the way the mysterious woman fit around him. Only half awake, he made his way down to the common room, ready to waste his morning away with a good book.

The next morning, Kit woke up first, like usual. She managed to get ready in less than ten minutes, leaving her enough time to get breakfast before everyone else and go to the Owlery to send a letter to her muggle friend about the beginning of the school year. Jack loved hearing about all of her adventures, even if there weren't many of them. One foot was out the door when her heart dropped down to her stomach; her wrist was bare. Somehow she hadn't noticed that her watch was missing. Her pulse accelerated and she prayed to whatever deities were out there that the watch had just fallen in the dirt after the full moon and she hadn't noticed it in her rush to return to the castle.

Lupin was still half asleep when he noticed a girl run out of the dorm, nearly tripping as she jumped out the door. Something about her reminded him of the dream, but he chalked that up to his own projection of the dream into reality. He ran out following her, still in his pj's, but she was too far gone by the time he got to the corridor. Honestly, she could have easily been a hallucination. He scrubbed his face with the heels of his hands and sharply exhaled. He needed to focus; he had missed the first day of classes and he needed to be ready to catch up. Still, he doubted he could focus when he remembered his dream so clearly. Everyone knew he was a virgin, both in personality and actuality, but the dream changed something within him. Shaking his head to rid himself of his distracting thoughts, he went upstairs to wake up the other guys so they wouldn't be late for breakfast. He couldn't believe how much time Padfoot and Prongs spent on their hair every morning.

Fortunately for Kit, her watch was still close to it's hiding place; it had only been covered by a thin layer of dirt and leaves. Overall, she felt unbelievably lucky. After letting the relief flood through her system, she went straight to the kitchens, knowing that the Dining Hall would ruin her good mood if she went in there. The moment she arrived, Pinky raced to her with a plate of chocolate-chip pancakes in her hands. A huge grin greeted the elf, but she ran back to work before Kit could really thank her.

The day started off so well, nothing could ruin it. Right?


	7. Chapter 7

Kit ran to the dungeons of the castle as quick as she could after eating the pancakes, completely forgetting to send a message to Jack. She saw some of the sixth year Slytherins leave the the Great Hall as she rushed by, but she didn't think too much about it. No, she was focused on exploring more of the halls of Hogwarts before people flooded the place on their way to class. She liked to say that she knew the castle like the back of her hand, but she didn't often make her way to the lower levels of the school and the free time she had before potions would be perfect for rectifying that situation.

She had ducked into one of the emptier segments of the hall, still very close to the school, when she heard some unwelcome voices.

"Speaking of the devil, look there she is!" Malfoy said. She internally scolded herself. She should have been more worried when she saw them leave breakfast early.

"Have you chosen yet?" Bellatrix asked, her voice laced with a sickly sweet tone of false friendship. "Between us or the dirty muggles?"

The Slytherin crew had been trying to recruit her for ages, especially after the betrayal of Sirius Black. They needed someone in Gryffindor; they had plenty in Ravenclaw and Slytherin and they knew no one in Hufflepuff would switch to their side. Kit had remained publicly undecided to avoid fights. Picking either side would bring plenty of enemies she didn't have the energy to deal with.

However, she figured this was coming. The Dark Lord's minions didn't exactly take silence as an appropriate answer and Kit came from potentially powerful blood, even if her parents wasted that potential. Her lineage rivaled Malfoy's, but fortune had not been nearly as kind on her family.

"Maybe we should help her decide," a voice she never expected to hear in this group spoke.

"Great idea, Severus! I'm sure we could convince her to make the right choice."

"We've been learning some fascinating spells under the Dark Lord's tutelage. Maybe we should test some of them on you." Bellatrix started to cackle, her true nature revealing itself. None of them expected Kit to take them up on their offer to join their side, but Voldemort was set on gathering as many followers as possible. For some reason, he had his eye on Kit specifically. He never said anything against torturing purebloods to get them on his side, and they decided that would be the easiest way to recruit Kit.

Before they could act on their ideas, Kit turned around and tried to make a run for it. She ran straight for the Herbology greenhouse, since that was the closest place a teacher would be. She heard the group send spells at her, and a few minor ones made contact. She knew someone was going to petrify her soon, so she used that fear to push her the last few yards to get to the safety of the greenhouse. A few Ravenclaws that were already there looked at her as if she were something that the cat dragged in. When the Slytherins saw the teacher, they gave up on their chase, for the time being. Kit knew the next time she was isolated or at any far distance from a professor, she could count on being attacked.

"Alright class, settle down now. Today we will be learning about Fanged Geraniums, which need the utmost caution. Watch for their teeth; their bites tend to fester. They will also be on your N.E.W.T.s, so pay attention."

Kit already knew as much as she wanted to about Fanged Geraniums. Last year, she had run into a particularly large patch of them while watching out for the marauders. She tried healing the bites herself, but she ended up worse than before she fell into the patch and had to walk to the infirmary with snakes for fingers.

The group eyed her all through the Potions class, which was unfortunately a joint class. Slughorn had the bright idea, for inter house unity, that each Gryffindor was paired with a Slytherin. Watching Potter's reactions to working with Malfoy almost made her time with Bellatrix bearable, even if the insufferable witch kept trying to fuck up the potion by adding copious amounts of wolfsbane petals. Kit managed to counteract most of it, at least enough to get a passing grade. After class, she made up excuses to stay after for as long as possible. Slughorn loved hearing the sound of his own voice; she got him to talk about the nontoxic uses of wolfsbane for almost hour. Alas, he had other classes to prepare for and she couldn't hide forever.

The second she left the classroom, the group of asshole Slytherin gagged her and tied her hands behind her back, stealing her wand in the process. They dragged her to an abandoned classroom, randomly pushing her down and dragging her back up along the way. The rough cobble of the hallway scraped her skin each time she fell, ripping her clothing in the process. Once they got to their destination, they hung her by her tied wrists to the low ceiling. Water dripped onto her head as they threw jinx after jinx, curse after curse at her. Bellatrix hadn't been lying when she said they were learning more impressive spells; the magic the group used was clearly difficult dark magic. If it wasn't being used on Kit, she might actually have been somewhat impressed.

Their interrogation of her loyalties was a clear farce. Asking her join their cause wasn't nearly as fun as using her as a practice dummy, so they didn't try. They had been tasked with recruiting her, but they wouldn't dare refuse the opportunity to use their favorite magic, especially when it was forbidden while on school grounds. After what felt like an eternity, Malfoy and his crew detached her from the ceiling and left her on the ground, her mind retreated back into a small corner of itself to avoid the pain.

Sometime after the Potions class, Potter and Black had noticed their friend become annoyingly irritated and snappy. As they ate lunch, Lupin continuously stood up and sat down again, glaring at anyone who dared look him in the eye. His turkey sandwich sat untouched in front of him.

"Hey, Moony. What's up?" Sirius asked, trying to keep his voice more casual than concerned. His concern turned to fear when Remus looked at him, his eyes entirely yellow and wolf-like. Remus had never partially changed outside of the full moon.

"Nothing. I just … I just feel like I have somewhere to be."

With that, the group dropped the conversation. Only Sirius had noticed Remus's eyes; James put most of his attention on discovering the white wolf while scarfing down a plate full of mashed potatoes.


	8. Chapter 8

Kit woke up completely disoriented without knowing where she was or what had happened. She only knew that she was alone and her entire body throbbed with pain. She winced as she gingerly moved her appendages and limbs, checking if anything was broken or if her body was just bruised. Throughout her self-check, she kept my eyes closed, afraid that her vision had somehow been damaged in the attack. She wouldn't be able to mentally handle being stuck in the dungeon while blind. As she moved her left arm, a shooting pain shocked her system, making her cry out in pain.

"Oops. Definitely broken," she thought to herself, surprisingly calm considering her situation.

The same pain that accompanied moving her left arm was also present with every breath she took. Normal breathing was difficult, but it would be infinitely worse if she were panicking and hyperventilating. She slowly sat up, breathing as slow as possible to reduce the pain. Eventually, she opened her eyes, bit by bit, until she could see most of her surroundings. Through her blurred vision, she could tell that she was in an empty classroom, dimly illuminated by two torches. Even though the torches didn't provide that much light, Kit knew the puddle of liquid around her was not water. Her own blood stained her clothing, or, at least the tatters that used to be a Hogwarts uniform.

Using her right arm, she felt around on the ground surrounding her to see if there was anything that might be able to help her in this situation. Instead of finding something to bring her hope, she found the splintered remnants of her wand. As she looked at it, memories from the attack surfaced in her mind. If they were really trying to convince her to join the dark side, torture and destruction of her property was the worst way they could do that. Even in its now-useless state, Kit cradled the wand that was a family heirloom, her only tie to her grandparents. She refused to leave her spot of hell without the thing.

She tried to stand up, to no avail. The pain overwhelmed her senses and immediately brought her back down to the ground every time she raised herself slightly off of it. Ultimately, she was stuck until some random person walked in to find this mess.

It didn't take long for Kit to realize which classroom the Slytherin group had dragged her into. She sat there for what she perceived as being hours, but the light was too dull for her to read her watch. The bleeding from her wounds had stopped, but her broken bones were no closer to being healed. In that time, not one person had walked by the room, not even on their way to another class. Only one room was avoided as this one: the 'Cursed Classroom'. People avoided it like the plague, wholeheartedly believing that crossing the threshold into the room brought death and bad grades, whichever was worse. Before long, Kit became increasingly morbid in her thoughts. Her only hope was that the next person to walk in the room didn't find her corpse lying there.

Though, to be honest, it would be kind of badass to haunt Hogwarts.

Her last shred of hope was rapidly disappearing when she heard voices nearing the classroom.

"You just have to stay in there for three hours."

"But what if I don't come out?"

Wait, those voices were familiar.

"It's just three hours. Don't worry! Then you'll have won enough money to buy your dream dress for the Halloween Masque."

"But-"

Kit made the connection. The two people outside the door were two of her roommates: Lily and Marlene. Before she could muster the strength to call out for help, Marlene had shoved Lily into the classroom then quickly closed the door.

When Lily saw Kit, she screamed like a banshee and proceeded to have a miniature heart attack. She ran up to Kit and started asking questions at a mile per minute: Who did this to her? Was she alright? Could she move? . Kit couldn't keep up; her exhaustion made her mind sluggish and slow to comprehend. She could only manage a small whisper for help before black dots swarmed her vision and she let the darkness consume her.


	9. Chapter 9

The next time she woke up, she felt immensely better than she did before. Soft sheets surrounded her body, securely wrapping her up in a warm bed. Her arm and chest were wrapped up with gauze; Kit knew that the best cure for a broken bone was a strong dose of Skele Gro but one could only take it when they were awake. The other ways to fix broken bones didn't work nearly as quick, but Pomfrey must have done something to help as no part of her hurt anymore. Sure, there was a definite ache, but she considered that as a huge improvement compared to what she could remember feeling the day before, when the attack took place.

She opened her eyes slowly again, to confirm that they worked fine. First, she noticed sunlight filtering in through the window, reflecting off of all of the white surfaces in the infirmary. The glare hurt her eyes and she quickly looked down, only to focus on the redheaded girl resting in the chair next to her bed. Here was Lily Evans, the roommate she had never spoken to but knew too much about.

Lily awoke slowly, stretching and yawning while rubbing the last traces of sleep from her eyes. When she realized Kit was awake, she started gushing about how worried she was when Kit was first brought to the infirmary.

"I didn't know if you were going to make it. Hell, I didn't even know if you were alive. And then Madame Pomfrey started working her magic on you, but it took so long. Then she said 'I can't do anymore to help her. The body has got to do it on its own.' so I started to really panic. She didn't know if you would live or not either and it was just so stressful..."

She kept on rambling on and on, but Kit didn't know how to stop her, or even if she should. Instead, she just let Lily talk until she ran out of energy and she slowly trailed off into silence, which quickly became awkward.

"Why are you still here?" Kit asked, desperate to break the silence while trying to not come across as overly rude. "We don't really know each other, no offence. I'm just curious."

"Hey, that may be true, but we're still roomies," she replied with a gentle smile. "The real world is getting difficult, we all need friends to get by." Somehow, Lily managed to say that without coming across as pitying; she genuinely wanted to be there for Kit regardless of their weak relationship. Plus, Kit couldn't argue against that fact; the evils of the wizarding world had infiltrated Hogwarts and everyone could sense the war looming on the horizon.

"That's true. But I don't tend to get along well with others" Kit said, subversively trying to warn Lily over the negative qualities she had with regards to friendship.

"You'll be great, especially after they get to know you. "

"What do you mean ' _they_ '?"

Lily mischievously smirked as the doors slammed open revealing the three other 6th year Gryffindor women: Marlene McKinnon, Alice Jones, and Molly Prewett.

"Hey guys. This is who I wanted you to talk to," Lily said.

"You want us to talk to Taylor?"

"Can she even talk?"

"Why?!"

"I think it's time we grew up- and that means not hating Taylor for petty reasons. We do sleep in the same room as her for most of the year, after all. I mean, why don't we get along in the first place?"

Silence filled the room after Lily's speech. The group of girls had met at the time in their lives when gossip and teasing controlled their actions. Kit was an easy target because she never fought back or tried standing up for herself.

Prewett was the first to speak up. "It was just an easy, you know?"

Then Jones added,"After first year, it's not like we ever had the chance to get to know each other. We pulled so much shit that I figured any connection we could have had was ruined."

McKinnon came straight to it and just said,"I think we are all trying to say sorry here. So why don't you just forgive us and then we can be best friends, ok?"

Kit just kind of chuckled in response. She had no reason to believe the girls. One apology couldn't make up for the years of isolation when she was supposed to be having the best time of her life. A more forgiving person maybe would accept their excuses, but Kit was stubborn enough to hold a grudge.

"No offense, but I don't think I can forgive you that easily. I can't really trust you just because you say you are sorry."

"Well, what can we do?" Prewett asked.

"That's for you to figure out. Right now, all I want to do is get out of here," Kit replied, itching to leave leave her confinement. At that moment, Madame Pomfrey shooed the other Gryffindor girls out of the infirmary so she could continue to patch up the broken girl. One disgusting glass of Skele Gro later, she was well enough to return to her dorms with a promise that she wouldn't go looking for trouble.

When she returned to the comforts of her bed, she discovered her wand -repaired- resting on her pillow, as if it were waiting for her to return. Attached was a note that read "Maybe this will help you forgive us."

Kit couldn't help but to smile; this wand was all she had left of her grandparents and the only positive memories about her family that she had. Maybe she could forgive her roommates, eventually.


End file.
